Good grief, the tires - ZR-1 Net Registry Forums

Brad Sewell · 02-20-2012

I recently bought 1990 ZR-1 #454. It still has the original Gatorbacks on the front and they an update.

The problem is I can't find a lot of matching sets in the factory sizes. I certainly don't intend to offend anyone with my first post, but I would really prefer American tires. And while the car will not be a daily driver, it will see a fair share of spirited Saturday and Sunday drives so I don't think street/drag tires are practical.

So what are you guys doing? Biting the bullet for $1400 F1's? Running non-matching sets? Does anybody use a slightly different size like 335/35s?

Kevin · 02-20-2012

I wouldn't run different sets front and rear, 335's are common. the gsd3's are my tire of choice

Gunny · 02-20-2012

Search is your friend ... you should find ample postings listing pros & cons of different brands, etc.
For a good bang for your buck, look at Nitto 555 from Discount Tire Direct ... currently $742 delivered.
Sumitomos are less expensive but not necessarily a bargain ... had a set, didn't get 10K out of the rears, won't buy again.

George Jones

Z51JEFF · 02-21-2012

Where exactly are you finding Goodyear F1s at $1400 a pop?The last set I bought weren't anything close to that and they came from The Tire Rack.

HAWAIIZR-1 · 02-21-2012

If you are really set on "American" made tires, I would check with Goodyear or any one else and confirm where it is actually made. So many things are made overseas these days so things aren't as "American" as you may think. I forget where my cousin told me the fork on the Harley Davidson came from, but it was not in the USA. I agree with George on the Nitto NT555s if you decide not to buy American; one awesome set of tires for the money and you will be able to get the OEM sizes.

Paul Workman · 02-21-2012

I've had the F1 GS D3s since I bought the car, and except for not getting them to hook so well at the drag strip, as a road tire they have been most excellent, and prolly saved my butt - or at least some paint! (Once last year when suddenly coming onto a wet patch on a blind hairpin and some dude in a pickup was cutting across the curve into MY LANE, the tires handled the unexpected increase to steering input without a whimper.) Wet or dry, they performed very well.

However, my next set are prolly going to be Nitto 555/555Rs. Lots of good reviews, and hookup at the drag strip is pretty good - much better than the 'D3s, for sure!

I'm not too concerned about mileage. If I got 10,000 miles on a set with a car that gets driven under 3000 miles per year and will handle in wet, dry, and some passes at a drag strip - that's a lot to ask of a general use tire, methinks. besides, I can almost buy 2 sets of Nittos for the cost of a set of GY 'D3s IF I can even find the 315s! Or, certainly buy a set of DRs to set aside for racing - 6 tires in all, and still come under the cost of the D3s. Did I mention the Nittos are available too???

Just a thought

P.

tomtom72 · 02-21-2012

Hi Brad & welcome to the asylum!

The D3's are expensive, noisy on concrete roads and expensive....did I say that already?

Oh, and G/Yr only makes so many at a clip and when they're gone it's a long time before another run. Okay those are the cons. You want the pros? The tread pattern is almost a direct copy of the semi-wet tire G/Yr issued to CART and F1 when they were doing those series back in the early 90's (?). The carcass construction is also very similar. Oh, one more con: they lack a bit of crispness on initial turn in, but you get used to that after a short time. To counter all the cons the wet grip is to not be believed, and the dry grip gets better after you can smell them inside the car. They take a good bit of heat to start to work, and at 40* and or when cold at normal ambient temps you need to know you have very little grip. At the other end though is where they make up for the cold= no grip in that as you smell them they don't get "greasey" feeling till you put a lot more heat into them and on the street you may never get to that point.

The nittos seem to be a good bet, NT555. I'm a D3 fan ( nawh, you don't say! ) but I think I will try the NT01's as I want to try a dry app tire. The Michelin PS2's would be my 2nd choice after the D3's as an all round tire as they have great wet grip I'm told. They're just as much as the G/Yr's so I'm not inclined to buy them as I know what the D3's do at that price point and all my feed back on the PS2's are from 5 & 6 drivers. They seem to work real well in the wet on a Z as I've seen them in action, but have never driven on them. Oh, and the sumitomos(sp?) are not really up to it according to the people that had those.

JMHO

Tom

tomtom72 · 02-21-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Z51JEFF

Where exactly are you finding Goodyear F1s at $1400 a pop?The last set I bought weren't anything close to that and they came from The Tire Rack.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...=51100&tab=All

I don't know that this link will work, but at TireRack they are 1300 plus for a set and the rears are on back order!

XfireZ51 · 02-21-2012

If I had 17's, I would look at the Vredestein Sessantas
or the Nitto Invos.

GSJoe · 02-21-2012

My friend Matt and I both have the Nitto 555 on our ZR-1 cars and we think they are a great all-around street tire. We got them at Discount Tire.

02-20-2012	#1
Brad Sewell Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Wilmington, NC Posts: 55	Good grief, the tires I recently bought 1990 ZR-1 #454. It still has the original Gatorbacks on the front and they an update. The problem is I can't find a lot of matching sets in the factory sizes. I certainly don't intend to offend anyone with my first post, but I would really prefer American tires. And while the car will not be a daily driver, it will see a fair share of spirited Saturday and Sunday drives so I don't think street/drag tires are practical. So what are you guys doing? Biting the bullet for $1400 F1's? Running non-matching sets? Does anybody use a slightly different size like 335/35s? Last edited by Brad Sewell; 02-20-2012 at 10:54 PM. Reason: Typo

02-20-2012	#2
Kevin Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: pittsburgh Posts: 4,632	Re: Good grief, the tires I wouldn't run different sets front and rear, 335's are common. the gsd3's are my tire of choice __________________ It's not the car, it's the people - Doug Johnson 90 r/r "KEYS ON" nick named "T.L.B"

02-20-2012	#3
Gunny Join Date: May 2005 Location: Georgia Mountains Posts: 926	Re: Good grief, the tires Search is your friend ... you should find ample postings listing pros & cons of different brands, etc. For a good bang for your buck, look at Nitto 555 from Discount Tire Direct ... currently $742 delivered. Sumitomos are less expensive but not necessarily a bargain ... had a set, didn't get 10K out of the rears, won't buy again. George Jones __________________ George Jones Founding Member #14 www.zrwon.com

02-21-2012	#5
HAWAIIZR-1 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Japan Posts: 3,572	Re: Good grief, the tires If you are really set on "American" made tires, I would check with Goodyear or any one else and confirm where it is actually made. So many things are made overseas these days so things aren't as "American" as you may think. I forget where my cousin told me the fork on the Harley Davidson came from, but it was not in the USA. I agree with George on the Nitto NT555s if you decide not to buy American; one awesome set of tires for the money and you will be able to get the OEM sizes. __________________ Craig "ZR-1 NO KA 'OI" "ZR-1 ICHIBAN" 1995 #228 Black/Black with Dunn Heads ZR-1 owner since September 2003 ZR-1 Net Registry Founding Member #0074 NCM Lifetime Member #2048

02-21-2012	#6
Paul Workman Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Squires (near Ava MO in the Mark Twain N'tl Forest) - Missouri Posts: 6,493	Re: Good grief, the tires I've had the F1 GS D3s since I bought the car, and except for not getting them to hook so well at the drag strip, as a road tire they have been most excellent, and prolly saved my butt - or at least some paint! (Once last year when suddenly coming onto a wet patch on a blind hairpin and some dude in a pickup was cutting across the curve into MY LANE, the tires handled the unexpected increase to steering input without a whimper.) Wet or dry, they performed very well. However, my next set are prolly going to be Nitto 555/555Rs. Lots of good reviews, and hookup at the drag strip is pretty good - much better than the 'D3s, for sure! I'm not too concerned about mileage. If I got 10,000 miles on a set with a car that gets driven under 3000 miles per year and will handle in wet, dry, and some passes at a drag strip - that's a lot to ask of a general use tire, methinks. besides, I can almost buy 2 sets of Nittos for the cost of a set of GY 'D3s IF I can even find the 315s! Or, certainly buy a set of DRs to set aside for racing - 6 tires in all, and still come under the cost of the D3s. Did I mention the Nittos are available too??? Just a thought P. __________________ Good carz, good food, good friendz = the best of timez! 90 #1202 "FBI" top end ported & relieved Cam timing by "Pete the Greek" Sans secondaries Chip & dyno tuning by Haibeck Automotive SW headers, X-pipe, MF muffs Former Secretary, ZR-1 Net Registry Last edited by Paul Workman; 02-21-2012 at 06:30 AM.

02-21-2012	#4
Z51JEFF Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Fremont,Ca Posts: 3,058	Re: Good grief, the tires Where exactly are you finding Goodyear F1s at $1400 a pop?The last set I bought weren't anything close to that and they came from The Tire Rack.

02-21-2012	#7
tomtom72 Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Jacksonville, FL USA Posts: 4,645	Re: Good grief, the tires Hi Brad & welcome to the asylum! The D3's are expensive, noisy on concrete roads and expensive....did I say that already? Oh, and G/Yr only makes so many at a clip and when they're gone it's a long time before another run. Okay those are the cons. You want the pros? The tread pattern is almost a direct copy of the semi-wet tire G/Yr issued to CART and F1 when they were doing those series back in the early 90's (?). The carcass construction is also very similar. Oh, one more con: they lack a bit of crispness on initial turn in, but you get used to that after a short time. To counter all the cons the wet grip is to not be believed, and the dry grip gets better after you can smell them inside the car. They take a good bit of heat to start to work, and at 40* and or when cold at normal ambient temps you need to know you have very little grip. At the other end though is where they make up for the cold= no grip in that as you smell them they don't get "greasey" feeling till you put a lot more heat into them and on the street you may never get to that point. The nittos seem to be a good bet, NT555. I'm a D3 fan ( nawh, you don't say! ) but I think I will try the NT01's as I want to try a dry app tire. The Michelin PS2's would be my 2nd choice after the D3's as an all round tire as they have great wet grip I'm told. They're just as much as the G/Yr's so I'm not inclined to buy them as I know what the D3's do at that price point and all my feed back on the PS2's are from 5 & 6 drivers. They seem to work real well in the wet on a Z as I've seen them in action, but have never driven on them. Oh, and the sumitomos(sp?) are not really up to it according to the people that had those. JMHO Tom __________________ 1990 ZR-1, Black/grey, #2233, stock. ZR-1 Net Reg Founding Member #316 & NCM member

02-21-2012	#9
XfireZ51 Join Date: May 2007 Location: Chicagoland, IL Posts: 9,697	Re: Good grief, the tires If I had 17's, I would look at the Vredestein Sessantas or the Nitto Invos. __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Former Membership Chairman Former ZR-1 Registry - BOD 1972 Corvette 4speed base Coupe SOLD long time ago 1984 Corvette Z-51/4+3 SOLD 1992 Corvette ZR-1 Aqua/Gray #474 SOLD 1992 Corvette ZR-1 Black Rose/Cognac #458 2014 Honda VFR Interceptor DX

02-21-2012	#10
GSJoe Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 135	Re: Good grief, the tires My friend Matt and I both have the Nitto 555 on our ZR-1 cars and we think they are a great all-around street tire. We got them at Discount Tire.